Mourinho: Mkhitaryan must take ‘one more step’

Now, Manchester United only need a point in their final game of the group stages, away to Zorya Luhansk, to stay in the Europa League.

Rooney put in an inspired performance in yesterday’s 4-0 Europa League victory over Feyenoord, scoring United’s first-half opener from an Ibrahimovic through ball to become the club’s all-time leading scorer in Europe with 39.

Wayne Rooney’s opening goal in the rout of Feyenoord stole some easy headlines but the absence of Anthony Martial, who is rather more important to Manchester United’s long-term future, raised some eyebrows.

“It’s not the biggest competition obviously but it’s a competition United’s history doesn’t have, so let’s try to qualify”. We don’t know what we have to do to win a game. What I’m personally confused about is how the media and/or fans expected him to know it having just started his job in the summer. “You never know what can happen”. Rooney, who was on England duty at the time, faced heavy criticism this month after photographs appearing to show him drunk at a wedding party were published in a newspaper.

“He is a quality player, like every player in the team, but it is up to the coach who plays in the team. He played last Sunday [against Arsenal]”, Mourinho said.

Mourinho praised Mkhitaryan in a post-match interview but insisted the former Borussia Dortmund playmaker must keep performing to nail down a place in his starting XI. “He just needs now to try to replicate this kind of performance in the Premier League”. But I will help him to go one more. So I think it’s just that because that has also to be with confidence levels. “He needs to replicate this kind of performance in the Premier League”, repeated Mourinho, “with more physicality and more aggression”.

Rooney started the rout on 35 minutes when he ran onto Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s beautifully-weighted pass and chipped the ball over the onrushing Brad Jones.

“The second goal killed the game”.

The United skipper praised his team’s prolific display on the day, especially given their recent inability to finish teams off in the Premier League.

“We could cope with Manchester for 70 minutes”. Mkhitaryan will be hoping it is he who is one of those in the side, who were unstoppable after their second goal, who is kept in for Sunday. “We were dominant from the first moment, we created chances but this time we scored goals”. We’re pleased we got four goals.